La Tortería Mexicana Interview

One of the owners of La Torteria Mexicana, Angela Romero, was kind enough to answer this interview for Food Aesthetics Barcelona.

FABCN: How did the idea of ​​opening a Torteria / Taqueria in Barcelona come about? We know that tacos and tortas are equally famous in Mexico but few people outside of the country know tortas.AR: The idea arises because we realised that in the city of Barcelona there was no tortas restaurants and we decided to start this project.

FABCN:When did the restaurant open? Who are the founders? Tell us bit about the history of the place.AR: La Tortería opened its doors in August 2015 with a team composed of Chef Oscar Martinez, who’s had a great career in Mexican cuisine, and Angela Romero with the intent of exhibiting our wonderful culture, in this case through gastronomy.

FABCN: We love the decoration. It is one of the few Mexican spots in Barcelona that makes us feel like we’re back in Mexico. Where does the inspiration come from?AR: The purpose was always to transfer the experience of an authentic Mexican tortería abroad, focusing on details such as having the griddle open to the public. Simple decoration is what makes our customers feel like they’re in Mexico.

FABCN:What do you consider is your top dish? Both tacos and tortas.AR: Our top dishes are curiously those of “al pastor” the “chilanguita” torta and the tacos “al pastor”, the Cuban torta is our second most ordered dish.

FABCN:The menu is quite broad, however, have you contemplated introducing some new taco or torta in the future. Is there any surprise in the works?AR: We like to be in contact with clients and we have several suggestions that we would love to include in our menu, stay tuned for more!

FABCN: Which countries do you receive most visits from? Are there many local people interested or do you think it’s mostly people from other countries?AR: Obviously most of our audience are Mexicans who long for a good torta or a few “taquitos”, we also have people who are linked in some way to Mexico either because they have lived there or are married to Mexicans, there’s also people from around the neighborhood that have tried and loved our tortas. We also have many Latin American customers who in some way share certain similarities with our cuisine.

FABCN:And how about the customers. What have your experiences been with them? Have you been visited by any famous person?AR: Despite being a simple place we are visited by all kinds of people, many of our orders are for delivery so surely some famous people have tried our tortas.

FABCN:What do you think about the Mexican food scene in Barcelona, ​​is there a lot of variety or could there be more?AR: In recent years, a Mexican food boom has been experienced worldwide, and people are getting to know the real thing instead of the tex-mex food stereotype that was perpetuated in the past. In the case of Barcelona this year, many new premises were opened, it is important to innovate and offer quality products to show the world our true gastronomy.

FABCN:Finally, is there anything else you want to say about La Torteria Mexicana?AR: First of all we would like to thank Food Aesthetics Barcelona for the feature and all our clients and friends who have made possible these three years of La Torteria Mexicana possible, ​​thanks to the support we’ve received, we have been able to open our second restaurant “La Wera” where we offer other types of more elaborate dishes and we have space for larger groups.